Verse of Ikmal al-Din

The mainstream Sunni view is that the Ikmal verse was revealed to Muhammad during the farewell pilgrimage in 10 AH. (The farewell pilgrimage was Muhammad's only hajj ritual which he performed accompanied by thousands of Muslims, shortly before his death.) More precisely, Sunni Islam holds that the Ikmal verse was revealed on the day of Arafah, 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, and 80-82 days before Muhammad's death.[1][8][9][10][11] A criticism of this view is that Muhammad died 87 days after the day of Arafah and the recorded 80-82 days is closer to the Shia view below.[12] Comparing various Sunni sources reveals more discrepancies regarding the exact date.[13][14][15][16]

There is no consensus among the Sunni scholars about the significance of the day of Arafah in 10 AH: Some Sunni sources hold that the dietary instructions in the Ikmal verse mark the completion of (the guidelines of) Islam. Barring rarities like the meat of an animal that falls to its death, the dietary instructions in the Ikmal verse also appear elsewhere in the Quran.[2][11][17][18][19][20] Later verses in the same surah (chapter) of the Quran contain additional dietary instructions beyond those listed in the Ikmal verse.[21][22][23] Lastly, according to some Sunni accounts, the key verse of the Quran about usury was revealed to Muhammad after the Ikmal verse.[24][25]

Some Sunni sources postulate that the hajj ritual was perfected on the day of Arafah in 10 AH, with the caveat that those instructions were later abandoned by Islamic rulers for decades.[26][27][28][29] It is also unclear how dietary or hajj guidelines would disappoint disbelievers.[21] According to some Sunni sources, God's blessing was completed on the day of Arafah in 10 AH because, on that day, Muslims could safely perform their hajj ritual in Mecca and pre-Islamic rituals were abandoned.[26][30][31] The conquest of Mecca happened earlier in 7 AH and pre-Islamic rituals were banned in 9 AH. By some accounts, the Ikmal verse was revealed to Muhammad when he could not see any disbelievers in the large crowd of pilgrims on the day of Arafah.[32][33] These and many leading Sunni sources are silent about why disbelievers despaired on this precise day.[34][35][36] According to some sources, the Ikmal verse marks the time when Muslims ceased to fear disbelievers.[37] This opinion does not take into account the Byzantine empire which posed a serious threat to a nascent Islam. Indeed, immediately after returning to Medina, one of Muhammad's top priorities was organizing a new campaign against Romans.[38]

Lastly, a few Sunni sources offer accounts that agree with the Shia view, detailed below.[6][7] The majority of Sunni scholars reject these accounts as unreliable.[39][40] However, the Shia scholar Amini collected 16 Sunni hadiths that confirm the Shia view and also pass the Sunni (and Shia) standards of hadith.[41] Similarly, the Shia scholar Bahrani collected and analyzed various Sunni hadiths that support the Shia view about the Ikmal verse.[42]

Shia holds that the Ikmal sentence was revealed to Muhammad on the day of Ghadir Khumm, 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah in 10 AH, a few days after the farewell pilgrimage in Mecca.[2]

On this day and on the return trip from Mecca to Medina, Muhammad gathered thousands of pilgrims who had accompanied him during the hajj ritual. He then delivered a lengthy sermon under a scorching sun.[43][44] In his sermon, Muhammad informed Muslims about his imminent death[45][46] and then uttered the famous words "Anyone who has me as his mawla, has this Ali as his mawla."[47] He repeated this sentence two or three more times and the sentence itself is often referred to as the Ghadir Khumm hadith.[48] Ali, who was Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, occupies a similar position in Islam that Aaron does in Judaism.[3][4][5] Because of the sheer number of Sunni and Shia accounts, it is hardly possible to doubt that Muhammad uttered the Ghadir Khumm hadith.[49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88]

While the above account of the Ghadir Khumm event is extracted from Sunni sources, Shia and Sunni interpret the Ghadir Khumm hadith differently: The Arabic word mawla in the Ghadir Khumm hadith has multiple meanings and leader or friend are its two most relevant translations in this context.[89] Shia interprets mawla as leader and views the Ghadir Khum sermon as the formal designation of Ali as Muhammad's successor, though this interpretation is disputed by Sunni, who interpret mawla as friend in this particular sermon and see the Ghadir Khumm hadith as a request to befriend or honor Ali.[90]

According to Shia records, the Ikmal sentence (and its prior sentence) were revealed to Muhammad shortly after appointing Ali as his successor on the day of Ghadir Khumm.[2][21][91] Shia sees Ali's appointment as the only plausible event that matches the momentous occasion described in the Ikmal sentence, namely, the perfection of Islam, completion of God's blessings upon Muslims, and His approval of Islam.[2]

Crucially, Ali's appointment ensured the continuation of Muhammad's divine mission after his death and dissolved the last hope of disbelievers for derailing Islam. Indeed, when faced with the inevitable march of Islam in the Arabian peninsula, most disbelievers converted to Islam to avoid persecution. These munafiqun (lit. "hypocrites") saw Muhammad's death as their only hope to regain their lost influence and status. It is also worth noting that the Ikmal verse does not necessarily limit disbelievers to munafiqun.[2]

A criticism of this view is that Shia interprets the Ikmal sentence independently from the dietary instructions in the Ikmal verse. Indeed, removing the two controversial sentences from the Ikmal verse does not break its cohesion. This observation suggests that the two controversial sentences were revealed to Muhammad separately and later placed inside the Ikmal verse. What supports this view is that all Sunni and Shia hadiths about the Ikmal sentence start with "Today the faithless..." or "Today I have perfected..." and not with "You are prohibited carrion..."[2] Another Sunni account that corroborates this view states that Muhammad moved up the Ikmal sentence to the beginning of the surah (chapter).[92]

Considering the sensitivity of Ali's appointment, it has been suggested that Muhammad intentionally buried the Ikmal sentence within inconspicuous dietary instructions to protect the Quran from falsification.[93] According to Shia Islam, those who conspired to take over the caliphate would have not hesitated to remove or distort the Ikmal sentence, even if the Quran had explicitly named Ali as Muhammad's successor. Indeed, a well-attested Sunni account that supports this view is as follows: On his deathbed, Muhammad asked his companions for pen and paper: "I will write something that will guide you in the path of righteousness after my death." Omar, who later became the second caliph, told those with him that, "Muhammad is delirious and the Quran suffices for you." A heated argument broke out among them and Muhammad's request was eventually ignored.[94][95][96][97][98]

It has also been suggested that the Ikmal sentence was revealed to Muhammad twice, on both of the days of Arafah and the Ghadir Khumm, and after delivering two separate sermons that introduced Ali as his successor.[99] Indeed, it was not uncommon for the same verse to be revealed on multiple occasions to Muhammad.[100]